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NEW YORK — Australian mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer unveiled blueprints yesterday for Titanic
II, a modern replica of the doomed ocean liner.

The ship is to largely re-create the design and decor of the fabled original. Modifications will
keep it in line with current safety rules and shipbuilding practices, and modern comforts such as
air conditioning will be added, Palmer said at a news conference in New York.

The three passenger classes, however, will be prevented from mingling, as in 1912, Palmer
said.

“I’m not too superstitious,” Palmer said when asked whether re-creating a ship best known for
sinking is tempting fate. “Anything will sink if you put a hole in it.”

Unlike the original, Titanic II will have more than enough lifeboat spaces for every person on
board. Markku Kanerva, sales director at Deltamarin, the Finnish company designing the ship, said
it would be the “safest cruise ship in the world.”

Palmer declined to answer questions about the project’s cost. Forbes estimated Palmer’s net
worth to be $795 million in 2012. He describes himself as a billionaire.

Titanic II is to be built by a Chinese company. Although the Titanic was the world’s largest
ship in her time, she would be smaller than many of today’s modern cruise ships.

Palmer hopes that construction can begin this year, and that the maiden voyage, re-creating the
trans-Atlantic crossing of the original, would take place in 2016.

The plan is for passengers to find 1912-style clothing in their rooms should they wish to
pretend they are living in an earlier era. Prices will be announced later.